Seeing your kid graduate from college is an exciting moment. However, the logistics of going to graduation aren’t so exciting – the crowds, the traffic, the unfamiliar place. But with a bit of planning and some inside information, you can take a lot of the stress of graduation weekend off. Particularly, the purgatory of parking
Of course, there’s 2-hour parking and a parking garage on Court Street, but there’s a 99% chance there’s no way that’s happening for you. The good news is, there are still many places within a short walk of the Convo that you can try:
- Always check OU’s parking and transportation services webpage before you go; each semester they do an updated guide for commencement parking on campus, including what lots are open to guests and when.
- Know that the Convocation Center, where graduation is held, is not available for parking. (And if you’re an OU student who usually parks there, this is your friendly reminder to move your car the day before!)
There are 2-hour parking meters on campus, including:
- Behind Bentley Hall
- Walter Hall Parking Lot
- Morton Hall Parking Lot
- E Union off of Court
- Next to Baker ground floor
There’s also 2-hour parking within a block of campus on:
- W Washington
- W Union from Washington to Factory
- College
In addition – although it’s a bit farther of a walk, there is 24-hour street parking on several streets directly off uptown and down on the West Side, which is closer to the Convo. These include:
- S High
- W Washington
- W State
- Mill
Obviously, most families’ ideal is to get into the lots on campus that are directly near the Convo, but (1) this may not be possible if you’re not early and (2) getting out of those lots after graduation is an awful and very long experience. If the weather’s good on graduation day, a few blocks’ walk through Athens and campus will save you a lot of strife dealing with crowded parking lots and pushy drivers. After graduation, you can head right back uptown – maybe even grab a celebration drink or three.
Happy Ohio University Commencement!